


Moonchild

by flokatae (wolfi_sama)



Category: Monsta X (Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Blood and Injury, Cat cameo, Cuddling, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Kim Namjoon | RM is Bad at Feelings, M/M, The Inherent Romanticism Of Tending To Your Crush's Wounds, Werewolf!hyunwoo, Witch!Namjoon, he cries im sorry, not much though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:13:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27826594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfi_sama/pseuds/flokatae
Summary: “I'm worried about him,” Namjoon admits as he eventually sits down next to the cat, legs crossed and fingers tightly clasping the cup in his hands. “I told him to be careful,” he continued, his mind replaying their conversation from earlier that day, “He said he had a safe place to stay the night but who knows if he actually made it there.”
Relationships: Kim Namjoon | RM/Son Hyunwoo | Shownu
Comments: 3
Kudos: 17





	Moonchild

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LongLastingForevermore](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LongLastingForevermore/gifts).



> yah so  
> apparently this is what happens in a single night when you ask your writer friend for a prompt  
> I havent written this much in months and now im tired
> 
> this is for you @LongLastingForevermore you absolute enabler 
> 
> ❤︎❤︎

* * *

“Move over for me?” Namjoon crouches down next to the cat sitting on the crooked doorstep of his little forest cabin, keeping him quiet company. It's easily past midnight by now but Namjoon knows he'd only be tossing and turning in his bed if he tried to get some sleep now. So he might as well stay awake for the time being, hoping for the best.

Cradling a teacup in one hand, Namjoon uses his other to pet the cat's head and allows himself to revel in it for a moment, smiling at the soft purrs that follow his touch. He isn't sure how long this cat had been living here with him, free to come and free to go whenever it pleased. Maybe there was someone else who got to enjoy its visits, pet its soft fur, catch it steal a piece of meat on its way out every now and then.

“I hope you're not someone's familiar,” he mumbles in the cat's general direction, fingers moving to scratch its ears, “witches don't like it when their familiars hang out with other witches, you know?”

A deep meow lets him huff.

“Of course you know.”

He keeps petting its head, following its steady gaze out into the woods, the full moon's light falling through the treetops like reversed shadows.

It's beautiful, seeing the forest he's grown to know and love lie quiet and peaceful in a night like this, undisturbed from any human interference other than his own.

“I'm worried about him,” Namjoon admits as he eventually sits down next to the cat, legs crossed and fingers tightly clasping the cup in his hands. “I told him to be careful,” he continued, his mind replaying their conversation from earlier that day, “He said he had a safe place to stay the night but who knows if he actually made it there.”  
  
The cat shuffles a little to the side, eyes flicking to catch any sound coming from deep inside the woods.

Namjoon takes a cautious sip from his tea, its warmth a pleasing contrast to the cool autumn breeze rustling through the trees around them, taking the last bits of summer with it. He closes his eyes, breathing in the scent.

☾

They sit there for quite a while, probably hours, Namjoon only once getting up to grab a blanket and a treat for his feline companion who sits there with him, waiting for the night to pass.

At some point the cat decides to hop into Namjoon's lap and observe the forest from there, neatly tucking its limbs under its body but its eyes and ears still alert.

It would be nice to have a familiar like that, Namjoon thinks, gently stroking its back. But so far, he was still without a familiar and it was honestly getting a little late. Every other witch he knew had a companion by their side, animals ranking from reptiles to rodents, some even formed bonds with deer and wolves.

“A frog would be cute,” he muses more to himself than the cat and leans back against the wooden doorframe, “.. can crabs be familiars?”

  
  
It's that exact moment when the cat suddenly jumps to its feet, fixating a point somewhere to their left, its body tense.

Then, a sound. One that Namjoon can hear as well. It's close but not close enough to see what or who made it even in a full moon night. It sounds like heavy footsteps, branches and leaves breaking under the weight. It's definitely not an animal then, Namjoon figures, delicately aware of the fact that both predator and prey in this place were careful not to make a sound as they tread through the undergrowth.

Sudden silence follows a dull thump and Namjoon realizes that whoever was out there, just stumbled and fell. And it's another second before he wonders if this person might be someone he knew. Someone he'd spend the night worrying about. Just like so many nights before.

“Hyunwoo,” he gasps and scrambles to get up, blanket barely holding on to his shoulders as he hurries down the narrow stone path leading to his house, almost slipping on some wet leaves on his way down.

He keeps an eye out for anything vaguely human-shaped, heart beating fast with fear. Part of him wished it to be someone or something else entirely, some poor bastard who lost their way in the dense forest maybe.

And then he sees it. A dark lump of mass lying motionless on the ground, the stench of blood clearer and more upsetting with every hurried step he makes in its direction.

He slows down when he's only a few steps away, his own labored breathing drowned out by the pained moans and breaths coming from the creature in front of him.

Namjoon takes another step towards it, realizing that its fur, not fabric, that covers its form. He feels his heart sink.

“Hyunwoo is that you?”  
  
After a second, the mass begins to move, a muscular arm stretching out towards him, giving it a more distinct shape. If it hadn't been obvious before, Namjoon now realized that he was standing in front of a werewolf. Struck down by either exhaustion or injury.

It has to be him. There's no way this is someone else.

Any sensible person would've screamed at him to get away, to not even come anywhere near an obviously wounded werewolf. And there was a part of Namjoon, buried deep down inside of him, that did the same.

“J-joon,” the creature forces out, voice low and hoarse and nowhere near what Hyunwoo sounded like.

“I'm here,” he hushes, moving closer to kneel down next to him, “I'm here now.”

His eyes hastily scan Hyunwoo's inhuman body, looking for the source of the nauseating smell of blood.

“Gods, what happened to you? Did you get into a fight? Did someone attack you?”  
Namjoon's mind gears into overdrive, endless possibilities opening up to him the longer he allows himself to think about them. He's shaking when he finally reaches out to Hyunwoo's outstretched hand, it's sheer size dwarfing Namjoon's as it closes around it.

But Namjoon doesn't feel comforted by it, seeing how there was no way he'd be able to get this mountain of a creature back into his house. Hyunwoo himself he might be able to handle but this? No way

Namjoon briefly looks up at the sky where he finds the moon looking down on them, bright and hauntingly beautiful. There was a hint of red on the horizon, heralding the new day, but it was still not enough to lift the curse off of Hyunwoo.

“You need to hold out a little longer. I'll go get some stuff from inside,” he says, flinching in pain as the sharp claws on Hyunwoo's fingertips dig into his skin, holding him in place.

As if he'd touched a hot iron, Hyunwoo lets go of Namjoon's hand and curls back in on himself, returning to be the quivering mass from before.

“Stay away.”

His voice is now clearer than before, yet still audibly strained.

“The hell I am,” Namjoon huffs, shuffling closer to make out Hyunwoo's face, his endeavor cynically aided by the bright moonlight. He finds it painfully contorted, eyes deliberately pointed away from him. There was blood covering his inhuman features, glistening black.

For a moment, Namjoon wonders if the blood is Hyunwoo's or someone else's.

Ever since he had let him in on his secret, he'd assured him that he only hunted deer and other game after he turned in order to not go for humans. But unless he'd encountered a bear, there was little chance these injuries weren't man-made.

“Is this your blood?” He rests a cautious hand on Hyunwoo's head, trying to comfort him a little.

“Don- know..”

“Okay,” Namjoon responds quietly, not pressing the issue further. He feels helpless. “Do you think you can walk? Get up? Anything?”

A low grunt comes from Hyunwoo as he tries to get up, slowly pulling his legs under his heavy body. It's apparent that he's in pain; movements slow and sluggish, exhaustion written all over him. And for a moment it looks like he can at least get himself on all fours, the smell of blood even more apparent than before. Namjoon thinks he can hear the blood drip onto the leaf-covered ground beneath them before Hyunwoo collapses again.

“Listen,” Namjoon tries, gently rubbing his thumb over Hyunwoo's forehead, “This isn't gonna work. I'll go get some medicine to at least get you inside.”

Unlike before, Hyunwoo lets him go, and it's only now that he's running back to his cabin that Namjoon notices how dizzy he feels. Not surprising given that he'd spent the entire night worrying about the wellbeing of his friend, but awfully inconvenient.

As soon as he's inside, he rummages through his collection of more or less obscure elixirs and potions he's keeping all over the place. He decides on one, two vials, brain still working on the question if they produced a poison if given at the same time when he's already on his way back to Hyunwoo.

  
  
He hasn't moved an inch since he left, his breathing now shallow rather than deep. Namjoon needs to hurry.

Falling to his knees right beside Hyunwoo's head, Namjoon immediately moves to turn the werewolf's head, just far enough so he can feed him the potions.  
  


“You need to swallow this for me now, okay? It'll give you enough energy to get up.”

Hyunwoo obediently opens his mouth, causing globs of blood to drop out of it onto the ground.

“A little wider,” Namjoon's voice shakes a little as he opens both of the bottles to get this over with quicker. “Just like that. Perfect.”

Trying not to hurt himself on the sharp fangs adorning Hyunwoo's mouth, Namjoon pours out the potion and watches intently as Hyunwoo tries to swallow all of it.

“Well done,” he praises him with a smile, for the first time since he found him relieved.

Placing his hand back on Hyunwoo's head, Namjoon settles down next to him, posture relaxing. It's going to be a couple minutes until the potions take effect so until then they can afford to calm their nerves a little. He's gotten some blood over his hands as well, skin feeling itchy as it dries.

“I should have brought a pain reliever too,” Namjoon suddenly realizes and sits back up straight, ready to jump to his feet but Hyunwoo's deep voice holds him back.

“'t's okay.”

Namjoon relaxes again, eyes now finally finding Hyunwoo's. He can't tell what color they are but the way they reflect the cold moonlight makes him feel at ease. They're not the eyes that turn into crescents when he smiles. Not the ones that look at him in awe whenever he prepares the herbs for his potions with practiced ease. Not the ones he slowly but surely fell in love with. But they reminded him that this creature in front of him wasn't some soulless monster.

As slowly as the sun begins to rise on the horizon, dipping the sky in a soft shade of pink, Hyunwoo finds the strength to get back on his feet. Slowly and with Namjoon's hands guiding him, he makes the first step, legs shaking under the strain even despite the extra energy boost.

Namjoon checks his body for injuries once more, finding multiple cuts and scratches all over his chest and legs. Some cuts deeper than others, some still gushing blood.

“We need to get you patched up quickly,” he notes and offers Hyunwoo to rest his arm on his shoulders despite the werewolf effortlessly towering over him, even now that he was hunched over to keep his balance.

They slowly make their way to the cabin, the first rays of sunshine piercing through the same tree tops the moon had earlier. With it, Hyunwoo's body begins to change back; the hair on his body disappears, his features return to more human proportions and right as they arrive at the doorstep, he'd completely returned to normal. Namjoon finally manages to wrap his arm around Hyunwoo's waist, bare skin cool to the touch from the time he'd spent outside without shelter.

Curiously eyeing the two of them, the cat clears the way for them to pass through, careful not to get too close to Hyunwoo as they walk by.

“So that's why you smell like that cat again,” Hyunwoo offers in an amused tone, his familiar voice causing Namjoon to hold him a little closer.

“We were waiting for you.”

Hyunwoo hums in response, breathing in the distinct scent of Namjoon's home.

“Here, sit down in the bathroom, I'll get towels.”

☾

“You look like you got mauled by an animal,” Namjoon remarks as he kneels down on the floor between Hyunwoo's spread legs, wounds even more prominent now that his body is no longer covered in dense fur.

He feels lightheaded looking at the gashes all over Hyunwoo's naked body, only mildly comforted by the fact that most of his injuries were mere abrasions and therefore less worrying than the rest. The rest being those that caused Hyunwoo to bleed through the bunch of towels under him.

"Worse, actually,” Hyunwoo sighs, trying to smile, “Hunter is more like it.”

Nearly dropping the small bottle with ointment, Namjoon stares at him in disbelief.

“Our paths crossed by accident. I made sure to stay away from hunting grounds as best as I could but-”

“He could've killed you.”

  
  
“His rifle misfired,” Hyunwoo says, words a little slurred, “Otherwise I would've been done for. Still had a knife though.”

Namjoon closes his fist around the wet towel, trying not to think about it too much. Now that the initial adrenaline rush was wearing off, things started to feel uncomfortably real again.

“Did.. did you kill him?” He asks quietly, gently cleaning the skin around the cut on Hyunwoo's thigh. He feels his muscles contract under the pressure, unable to estimate how painful it must be. “Sorry.”  
  
Hyunwoo watches him for a long moment, teeth clenched in a feeble attempt to trick Namjoon into worrying less about his wellbeing.

“I didn't.”  
  
“I would have,” Namjoon admits, finally putting the towel away to grab the ointment, “I think.”  
  
He spreads the balm around the cut, careful not to get too close to the bare muscle tissue that is still dripping blood. It hurt to even look at it.

“This numbs the skin so you won't feel the stitches,” he informs Hyunwoo with an uncomfortably distanced expression on his face, undeterred in his effort to get his friend patched up as soon as possible.

“You would've? Really?”  
  
Hyunwoo's inquiring gaze is now on him, following his every move as he proceeds to clean the other, more shallow wounds. It's probably because of Hyunwoo's corrupted genes that he managed to get out of that situation alive and for the first time, Namjoon is thankful for that.

“Really.”  
  
“You of all people?”  
  
“Just because I'm a pacifist doesn't mean I'll let people do what they want.”

“.. Even though he saw a monster and simply defended himself?”

Namjoon briefly pauses and mulls the situation over in his head. Hyunwoo was right, of course. Hadn't _he_ been the person who was attacked, Namjoon would have backed his actions, citing the right to defend oneself in a life-threatening situation.

But this is about Hyunwoo.  
Gentle, handsome Hyunwoo, who let no opportunity pass to cheer him up whenever he didn't feel his best. Hyunwoo, who spent so much time with him despite Namjoon having nothing more to offer than his mere company.

“You're a good person,” he finally says, meeting Hyunwoo's eyes for the first time, “You deserve better.”

_You deserve better._

He stitches him up in silence, only warning him briefly before the first stitch. It's strange, patching up a person you'd do unspeakable things for. He can't quite pinpoint the emotion he's feeling; whether it's anger towards the man who did this to Hyunwoo, or whether it's something less vicious than that. Maybe relief that Hyunwoo's holding up this well despite his injuries?

Either way, he wants to keep it to himself.

“Your body is warming up, that's good,” Namjoon mentions after the last stitch, his left hand remaining on Hyunwoo's thigh for just a moment too long.

He doesn't notice him reaching for his hand just before he gets up to grab clean bandages and an assortment of other ointments meant to aide the healing process.

It's not before Namjoon is done tending to his most sever wounds that Hyunwoo speaks up again.  
  
“Joon.”

“.. hm?”  
  
“I'm sorry I made you worry about me.”

He offers his hand for him to take and Namjoon lets no second pass before he does.

Hyunwoo's fingers close gently around it, feeling nothing like the gigantic paw from earlier. And instead of holding him back, this time Hyunwoo pulls him closer, almost throwing him off-balance.

Having enough clarity of mind to avoid Hyunwoo's injured shoulder, Namjoon throws an arm up to support himself on the edge of the bathtub directly behind Hyunwoo, preserving just enough distance between them that they don't bump heads.

“I was worried too, you know? After my legs gave in. I could already see your house. Smell the tea you drank. I was so close. ..I was worried I wouldn't see you again.”

Leaning back a little, an attempt to take a step back both physically and mentally, Namjoon looks at him, eyes flitting back and forth between his right and left eye, searching for clues.

“But you're here now. I'm here too. It's gonna be okay.”

“I couldn't bear not seeing you again.”

Namjoon draws a sharp breath.

“Do you understand?” Hyunwoo presses further but Namjoon pulls away, only barely holding his balance as he stands up, eyes busy looking for something to do.

“I think it's better if you rest for now. I'll quickly put bandages on the rest of the wounds and .. ..yes. I'll do that. Let me just- ..Clothes too. Yeah. Definitely clothes.”

Shaken up by the weight of Hyunwoo's words – words he might as well have misinterpreted – Namjoon finds his hands trembling as he tends to the superficial wounds left on Hyunwoo's chest and upper body, careful not to give in to the temptation to luxuriate in the feeling of Hyunwoo's skin under his fingers and the comforting warmth of his body.

This isn't the right moment to get carried away.

There's blood all over his bathroom floor, the hallway, probably a lot more outside; his best friend covered in cuts and high on home-made adrenaline. He needs to focus.

Which is easier said than done with Hyunwoo's piercing gaze following his every move.

☾

By the time an increasingly tired Hyunwoo agrees to sleep in Namjoon's bed for the time being until he's feeling better, the sun's well up, as bright and brilliant as its nocturnal counterpart.

Namjoon's body feels heavy as he tucks Hyunwoo in, the sight of him covered in bandages and makeshift band-aids making his heart ache.

They hadn't talked since earlier, Namjoon going out of his way to seem as disinterested in a conversation as humanly possible. And instead of pushing him, Hyunwoo, dear Hyunwoo, gave him all the room he needed. Enough to stay away from whatever unspoken thing that has been between them for longer than Namjoon dared to admit. Sometimes though, Namjoon wishes he wasn't so suffocatingly considerate. He wants him to keep trying because Namjoon knows he himself won't make the first step.

Truth is, he couldn't bear never seeing him again either. He felt terribly selfish for feeling this way, even after Hyunwoo had basically admitted to feeling the same way about him.

He would move mountains to keep Hyunwoo close, to keep him safe. Shield him from everyone who could hurt him, whatever the cost.

But he can't keep him like a bird in a cage without inevitably making him hate him.

He wouldn't forgive himself if he turned into the reason Hyunwoo lost his light out of a misguided sense of responsibility for him.

Maybe he just wasn't cut out for this kind of thing and he should enjoy what he has instead of being greedy.

The tears fall before he can react, the tightness in his chest suddenly overwhelming him all at once. All the feelings he'd held back overnight, feelings he'd pushed aside in order to tend to Hyunwoo's injuries and get him through the night.

Just like that, the fear after seeing him bleeding out on the ground, collapsing back into the dirt from pure exhaustion, the utter helplessness he felt when he saw the myriad of cuts all over his body, everything came crashing down on him, pulling the rug from under his feet.

Namjoon sinks to the floor just by the side of his bed, breathless sobs catching up with the tears that are now freely running down his cheeks.

He got so close to losing the one person he cared about most and he's only realizing it now.

“Fuck,” he breathes out, huffing a laugh from the sheer absurdity of it all.

“Joonie?” Hyunwoo's soft voice takes a moment to get through to him, pulling him out of his panicked stupor.

The tears are still falling with no sign of stopping and slowly but surely Namjoon thinks he might be broken because he just can't seem to stop. He doesn't remember the last time he cried, let alone without any preamble.

“Joon..”

“I'm good,” Namjoon lies, haphazardly wiping away the tears, “don't worry.”  
  
“Don't ask me not to worry if my best friend is crying in front of me,” Hyunwoo retorts and props himself up onto his elbow.

Namjoon laughs dryly, _best friend_ indeed.

“Tonight was just a little much. I'll go get some r-”

“I love you.”

A beat.

“I'm sorry?”

“I said I love you. “..I've been meaning to tell you for a while but you kept running away.”

Namjoon blanks out for a second, cheeks getting wetter with every tear that escapes him. His instincts tell him to run. Get out of this situation as fast as possible; avoid confrontation, but his legs won't move.

“..I've been meaning to tell you for a while but you kept running away.”

“You–“

“It's okay, you don't have to say anything.” Hyunwoo smiles at him, genuine albeit visibly tired, “I just wanted you to know.”

It doesn't happen often that Namjoon chooses actions over words but this time, instead of running away, getting up and slipping to Hyunwoo under the covers felt like the only sensible thing to do.

Hyunwoo's warmth engulfs him as soon as he slides under the blanket, an overwhelming feeling of safety and comfort drowning out the worries and anxiety that were making it hard for him to breathe.

He reaches out to him, as if needing reassurance that he wasn't just dreaming.

As soon as he feels Namjoon's cautious touch, Hyunwoo wraps an arm around his waist, gently drawing him close to his chest, infinitely grateful for the painkillers Namjoon had given him earlier.

It's not the first time they hold each other like this, not even the first time they share a bed, but it's still something new entirely.

And it's nice, Namjoon figures, resting his palm flat on Hyunwoo's bandaged chest, subconsciously feeling for his heartbeat.

A werewolf might not be the safest partner to have or to love, no matter how gentle he may be – but Namjoon can tell a good man from a bad.

Tucking his head under Hyunwoo's chin, Namjoon relaxes into the embrace, almost falling asleep on the spot as Hyunwoo pulls him in oh so gentle as not to break him.

“Me too,” he mumbles eventually, voice muffled against Hyunwoo's chest.

The answer comes as a kiss pressed onto the crown of his head and a warm chuckle from Hyunwoo that ripples through his whole body.

He registers his whispered “I'm glad” before he finally drifts off.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading ❤︎


End file.
